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Tallstar's Revenge/Chapter 43
Chapter Summary :Cedarstar yowls for his warriors to attack, and charges at Dawnstripe. Talltail dashes in front of her, but she pushes him away, growling that she doesn't need his help. Blizzardwing attacks the black-and-white tom, lunging for his throat. Talltail and him fight, and the WindClan warrior notices Plumclaw grappling with a ginger tabby. He wonders if she can fight it off; he suddenly hears Dawnstripe shriek, and whips around to see that Newtspeck has joined Cedarstar. Newtspeck batters Dawnstripe's flank, and Cedarstar rakes her flank. Blizzardwing calls Talltail a rabbit-heart, and the black and white warrior snarls angrily, before butting the mottled tom's shoulder with such force that he staggers. Talltail ducks and bites Blizzardwing, and his opponent falls onto the ground, rolling onto his back. :Gaining the upper hand, Talltail pounces onto Blizzardwing, and claws his stomach. As the ShadowClan cat aims to bite him, Talltail dodges him. Plumclaw lets out a shriek of fury as a ShadowClan apprentice named Raggedpaw joins the ginger tabby's attack. The gray she-cat fights back with a flurry of blows, but the two ShadowClan cats manage to drive her further down the slope. Plumclaw nears the Thunderpath under their assault, but Talltail sees Cedarstar wrestle Dawnstripe to the ground, while Newtspeck bites her legs, and attempts to go help her. He tries to jump, but Blizzardwing grabs Talltail and drags him back. Talltail, desperate now, glances at the slope. He asks himself if Aspenfall was coming with extra warriors soon, or else WindClan would need to retreat. :A shriek from Dawnstripe makes Talltail outraged, and the black and white WindClan tom turns on his attacker, swiping for his neck. Blood splashes out from Blizzardwing's scruff, and he staggers back. The ShadowClan tom hisses at Talltail, and the WindClan warrior jumps for his opponent. Blizzardwing rears up, but he totters unevenly from the slope. Talltail notices this, and twists, sinking his teeth into the mottled tom's hind leg. The ShadowClan warrior howls with rage, and curls his body, managing to bite Talltail's shoulder. Pain scorches through his body, but Dawnstripe's yowling rips through the air. :Cedarstar looms over the pale she-cat, while Newtspeck watches, her lip curled. Tailltail braces himself for Cedarstar delivering the death blow. Suddenly, the ground trembles as paw steps thunder toward the fight. Energy ripples through the tom's body, and he rips himself free from Blizzardwing's grip. Familiar pelts streaked down the slope toward Talltail and his Clanmates, and he recognizes Reedfeather as one of the warriors. The WindClan deputy is closely followed by Hareflight, Redclaw, Shrewclaw, and Cloudrunner. :Redclaw smashes into Blizzardwing; the mottled tom's eyes are wide as this happens. Cloudrunner knocks Newtspeck away with a hefty blow, while Reedfeather and Hareflight go to aid Plumclaw. Talltail spots Shrewclaw, and the dark brown tom is glaring hatefully at Cedarstar. He springs onto the ShadowClan, claws digging into his shoulders, and snarls at him. He asks if he remembers Brackenwing, and then slams his paw against Cedarstar's cheek. :The very dark gray tom falls, hitting the ground. Shrewclaw lunges at Cedarstar again, his eyes blazing. Talltail himself is shocked of the savagery of his Clanmate's attack, but tells himself that this was what revenge was. Nothing was planned from Shrewclaw, and he was driven on like fire through bracken, especially in battle. Talltail's heart pounds as he jumps to help Shrewclaw, although the dark tom glances at him in surprise. The black and white tom growls to Shrewclaw that he'll help kill Cedarstar. :Together, Talltail and Shrewclaw deliver swipes to ShadowClan's leader. They drive him toward the Thunderpath, but Newtspeck comes running. She drags Shrewclaw off Cedarstar, her ears flat. Sinking her yellow-stained teeth into Shrewclaw's shoulder, she hauls him back. The dark brown tom flails his paws, trying to reach Cedarstar, but Redclaw had the dark gray tom pinned down already. Struggling free from Redclaw, Cedarstar calls for a retreat, and he flees for the tunnel. The ShadowClan warriors flee after their leader, following his wail. Talltail watches their enemies retreat, but he then hears a groan. Recognizing it as Shrewclaw, he turns around, exclaiming his name. Hareflight is seen crouching over Shrewclaw, and when Talltail dashes over, he nearly slips in blood. Looking down, he sees his paws stained red. :He realizes the sticky red liquid is blood, and notices it pumping from Shrewclaw's stomach like water in a spring. He shrieks at Dawnstripe to fetch Barkface, and when he meets her gaze, its full of horror. His former mentor then turns and rushes up the slope. Talltail's heart twists as he leans over Shrewclaw, telling the tom to hang on. Hareflight whispers that he'll die just like Brackenwing did: defending the moors from ShadowClan. However, Talltail growls that he can't die, because it wouldn't be fair. Jake's voice rings in Talltail's ears, reminding him that life isn't fair sometimes. Shrewclaw shudders, groaning, and the black and white tom tries to stop the bleeding. But when he presses his paws against the wound, blood runs over his fur; he wails that the bleeding won't stop. :Shrewclaw speaks, calling Talltail 'Wormcat'. He asks him to avenge Brackenwing for him, and his voice is weak and rasping. Talltail gasps, and pleads Shrewclaw not to die, since there were too many fights to win. His denmate's only response is a twitch as his eyes roll, and he finally falls limp. Hareflight sobs his apprentice's name, and, trembling, leans over and closes Shrewclaw's eyes. He murmurs that he was a good apprentice, and a great warrior. Finally, he adds that WindClan will honor their fallen ally. Talltail's gaze blurs as he looks away. He thinks that this battle was fought over stolen rabbits, but now Shrewclaw had died. He wonders if ShadowClan was that hungry, hungry enough to kill, or if they hated WindClan that deeply. Characters Major }} Minor *Dawnstripe *Blizzardwing *Plumclaw *Newtspeck *Raggedpaw *Shrewclaw *Aspenfall *Reedfeather *Hareflight *Redclaw *Cloudrunner }} Mentioned *Brackenwing *Barkface *Jake }} Important events Deaths *Shrewclaw: killed by ShadowClan warriors. Other *ShadowClan initiates a battle with WindClan, ShadowClan retreats. Notes and references Category:Tallstar's Revenge Category:Chapter subpages Category:Super Edition arc